Women's World Cup 2025: 'She is a very decent player' - Aakash Chopra suggests one change in India's XI for final

Published - 02 Nov 2025, 12:57 IST | Updated - 02 Nov 2025, 13:30 IST

India will lock horns with South Africa in the 2025 Women's World Cup final at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 1. Former India opener Aakash Chopra suggested that Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. should make one change to the playing XI, which registered a stunning win in the 2025 Women's World Cup semi-final against Australia on Thursday, chasing down a record target of 339 runs.

In place of Radha Yadav, Chopra feels that Sneh Rana should be picked as she could provide more depth in the batting department. Both Radha and Rana are spin-bowling all-rounders. While the former bowls left-arm spin, the latter is a crafty off-spinner.

Also, the cricketer-turned-commentator advised India to try their best not to drop catches, something that has been a problem area for them during the campaign. Chopra feels that giving the experienced South African batters reprieves could prove to be very costly.

"What are the things India need to control - unforced errors. Don't drop catches. It didn't prove expensive last time, but it can. It proved expensive for Australia. They gave Jemimah Rodrigues two chances, and the result is there for everyone to see. If we give a chance to Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk or Marizanne Kapp, we will be done," Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

"I won't talk about the toss because we don't win. So don't worry about that. Don't mind, we can chase. Dew comes here and the ball starts coming nicely onto the bat. Play Sneh Rana in place of Radha Yadav because Sneh Rana's batting might be very useful for you while chasing. She bowls off-spin in any case. She is a very decent player. Don't change anything else," he added.

The 48-year-old Chopra hoped that the Indian batting department would be among the runs against the Proteas on Sunday.

"I am expecting runs from Smriti Mandhana's bat. I am very eager to see fours and sixes from Shafali Verma's bat. Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma - we shall do it, only best wishes for them," he said.

Gambhir and Co. encourage Women in Blue before final

Chopra pointed out that the Indian team didn't sail smoothly during the campaign, suffering a hat-trick of defeats at one stage. However, he believes that the gritty win against Australia in the semi-finals could make them feel invincible.

"It hasn't been a fairytale World Cup for the Indian women's team. You lost three consecutive matches and the heart broke more than once. In such a scenario, the self-doubts creep in. After that, you changed your combination. A lot happened in this World Cup. A time comes in any trophy-winning campaign when everyone feels they are invincible. This was the semi-final moment," Chopra observed.